Thomas J. West Music

One of the topics that I have pondered the most as a professional music educator is the role of music-making in our modern culture. As a young man in college charting my future, I had an epiphany during a bowl trip with the Penn State Marching Blue Band that this, indeed, this marching and concert band thing, was what I wanted to do. But how does one do that ...

In this new age of transparency thanks to the Internet, regimes in the middle east have crumbled, skeletons are coming out of closets, and many situations that were "don't ask, don't tell" in the recent past are no longer socially acceptable. The more public your life and your work are, the more of a responsibility ...

The following article is a guest post.

I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that there are lots of kids out there who want to learn guitar because they want to play like [insert guitar god here]. The bad news is that there are lots of kids out there who want to learn guitar because they want to play like [insert guitar god here].

This presents ...

This particular performance is not of the caliber I normally include in the Great Performances series, but the novelty of how it is being performed is worth observing. Walk Off The Earth is an Ontario-based independent contemporary band that specializes in inventive covers of popular songs and their own originals, This particular cover of "Somebody I Used to Know" by Goyte was shared with me on Google Plus. All five members of the band play one acoustic guitar, each taking a piece of the comp...

I have been offering live private music lessons via webcam since 2008. Over that course of time, the online environment has changed dramatically thanks to social media advances. Despite these trends, my student roster continues to be sporadic and modest in size. I had attributed that primarily to the notion that online lessons had ...

The following article is a guest post from Elaine Hirsch, who has contributed to TJWmusic.com on several previous occasions.

New software and the rise of the Internet have made it easier than ever for artists to earn money with their music while gaining an audience and improving their sound. There are many online tools now available to music...

KeyStone A Cappella is my newly-formed semi-professional contemporary a cappella singing group. We were formed in April of 2011 and sang our first public performances in December. KeyStone sent an application to the Mid...

There is no question that trained musicians who offer private lessons deserve to be compensated fairly for the time and effort they put in to teaching private lesson students. There is also no question that in the current global economic slump, less people can afford to pay for private lessons at $40 or more an hour.

I have been ...

While sharing a few articles with the Facebook Band Directors PLN today, I saw the announcement that W. Francis McBeth had passed away.

Read Southern Music Company's Announcement HERE

McBeth had a long and pro...

Even before the final strains of the December Winter Concert float into the air, I am already contemplating repertoire selection for my spring concert. Choosing concert repertoire is one of the most important decisions that the director of a public school performing ensemble has to make. Y...